Thursday, August 20

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Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Today’s edition is brought to you by David Adler.

We’ve been celebrating America’s 250th birthday all summer — first with our “Baseball in America” series, where we brought you one unique baseball story from all 50 states, and now with our “250 for 250” project.

For 250 for 250, we created 25 top 10 lists that capture the plays, people, rituals and moments that make baseball America’s game. 

We’ve been unveiling one 250 for 250 list every weekday for the past few weeks, and there are still plenty more to come. But today we wanted to highlight some of the best ones that have come out so far. 

Let’s start with a new one: the top 10 ridiculous catches in MLB history.

You might think you know what ranks No. 1. And spoiler alert … You’re probably right. There’s only one catch that’s THE Catch. 

But you’ll definitely want to take a look at the whole list, just to remember some of the most sensational diving grabs, acrobatic home run robberies and just straight-up unique catches ever. 

When you’re done with that, here’s a sample of some of the other 250 for 250 lists you can check out: 

• Mammoth home runs — Our first list features the Babe calling his shot, Albert Pujols demolishing Brad Lidge, Ted Williams’ red seater and more. 
• Jaw-dropping throws — What could be more foolish than running on Roberto Clemente or Ichiro or Bo Jackson? These runners found out the hard way. 
• Iconic batting stances — All the classics are in here: Craig Counsell, Tony Batista, Jeff Bagwell and more. We wish more hitters still had crazy stances. 

There are two more full weeks of top 10 lists coming — on everything from the most legendary walk-offs to the most fun bloopers to the best bat flips to the greatest games ever played — and we’re going to keep bringing you the highlights until we get to 250 on Sept. 4.

All the 250 for 250 stories are here. From that page, you can also click to expand any top 10 list and watch video highlights of almost every entry. 

 

BRING ON THE SYNCHRONIZED HIPPOS

Only in Minor League Baseball can you have a Synchronized Hippos Night one week and a Chappell Roan Night the next. 

These two promos don’t have anything to do with each other, but we just had to bring them both to your attention. They’re too good. 

First up: The Synchronized Hippos take the field tonight.

Inspired by a “Jeopardy!” answer gone wrong, the Single-A Columbia Fireflies will transform into the Columbia Synchronized Hippos for one night only. And that night is tonight.

So what’s the backstory here? Well, back in February, “Jeopardy!” featured this clue: In late Spring, Congaree National Park in South Carolina is famous for its nightly display of synchronized these?

The REAL answer? Fireflies, of course. But the answer one contestant gave? Hippos. 

Host Ken Jennings replied: “No. Boy, I would love to see synchronized hippos, though.”

Now he can. Tonight, Fireflies are the wrong answer, and Synchronized Hippos are oh so right.

Next week: It’s Chappell Roan Night … and Chappell Roan approves.

The Springfield Cardinals are hosting Chappell Roan Night next Thursday, Aug. 27, in honor of their hometown pop star — and Roan loves it.

Roan was born in nearby Willard, Mo., and her 2023 breakout album is called “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” So of course Springfield wants to celebrate her with a night of all things Chappell Roan. 

The game next week comes with an official Chappell Roan Midwest Princess camo hat with the purchase of a theme ticket, Roan’s family is scheduled to throw out the first pitch, and the team will wear specially made jerseys inspired by the Springfield-shot music video for her hit song “HOT TO GO!” … which we’re sure will be blasting all game.

And now Chappell Roan Night is on Chappell Roan’s radar. She sent the Cardinals a message of appreciation for the promo.

“I can’t wait to see people in the jerseys and singing songs,” Roan said in a video posted to the Double-A Cardinals’ social media. “It’s just gonna be so awesome! Thank you so much for supporting and coming out, and I love Springfield, I love the Cardinals. Love Missouri. So, yeah, let’s play some ball!” 

AN ELECTRIC HOME RUN RACE IN THE WPBL 

There are some great races in baseball this year. Pete Crow-Armstrong vs. Shohei Ohtani for NL MVP. Jacob Misiorowski vs. Chris Sale, Cristopher Sánchez and more for NL Cy Young. Yordan Alvarez vs. the entire league for a Triple Crown. 

But here’s one you might not know about: Denae Benites vs. Kelsie Whitmore for the Women’s Professional Baseball League home run crown. 

Right now, Benites, the star catcher and captain for the WPBL’s New York Heights, leads the newly founded leaguewith eight home runs through eight games — including the first home run in WPBL history. 

But Whitmore, a two-way superstar for the San Francisco Firebells, and Benites’ teammate on Team USA, is just one behind with seven. 

And these two are going homer for homer. They faced off head-to-head last night with plenty of fireworks. During the game, Whitmore slugged her seventh homer to tie Benites for the WPBL lead … only for Benites to answer with a blast of her own to go back ahead with No. 8.

Our Michael Clair has a nice feature on Benites out today, so check that out — and go watch her in the WPBL if you aren’t already. 

DO THE MOONWALK, KODAI

Closer entrance songs are all the rage these days — there’s Mason Miller and KORN, Jhoan Duran and “El Incomprendido,” Edwin Díaz and his trumpets, etc. etc. etc. But we have to admit, we never would have seen this one coming. 

It’s Kodai Senga … and the King of Pop. 

Senga, who has taken over as the de facto closer for the suddenly amazin’ Mets, is now coming into the game to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” And he’s now 4-for-4 in save opportunities.

Senga debuted a new “Beat It” entrance yesterday at Citi Field en route to picking up his fourth save against the Padres, and it was electric. 

As he jogged in from the bullpen, the Citi Field video board showed a red jacket — a la MJ’s iconic one — featuring Senga’s “Ghost Fork” emblem on the back. And Mr. and Mrs. Met were rocking out to the song as Senga warmed up. 

You can check out Senga’s full entrance here courtesy of SNY field reporter Steve Gelbs. 

TUGBOAT, THEN AND NOW

Tugboat Wilkinson’s MLB debut was as awesome as you’d expect from a pitcher named “Tugboat Wilkinson.” 

The 6-foot-1, 250-pound lefty fired two scoreless innings for the Giants in a shutout win, and he looked good doing it. 

But here’s the most fun part: Tugboat is still the same pitcher he was in Little League. 

Rob Friedman, aka the Pitching Ninja, posted a must-see side-by-side comparison of Tugboat pitching in his MLB debut vs. a slightly smaller Tugboat pitching in the 2015 Little League World Series, when a young Wilkinson famously struck out 16 batters in a game for Canada.

As Tugboat himself put it when our own Matt Monagan talked to him at this year’s World Baseball Classic: “Haven’t changed a thing.”  

 

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